A back-up camera is part of the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport's long list of standard equipment.

Lyle Aspinall, Postmedia Network

The panoramic sunroof in the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

Lyle Aspinall, Postmedia Network, Postmedia Network

The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport features an auxiliary jack and a USB port.

Lyle Aspinall, Postmedia Network

The rear compartment in the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is quite spacious.

Lyle Aspinall, Postmedia Network

CALGARY —Several years ago while holidaying in Arizona, Sonja Norman rented a Hyundai Santa Fe. The Calgarian remembers being relatively underwhelmed by the experience. But, Hyundai got a chance for redemption when Norman spent time in a 2017 Santa Fe SE with all-wheel drive.

Refreshed for 2017, Hyundai claims over 350 components of the Santa Fe are all new. The vehicle features updated styling from its headlights to its taillights with improved aerodynamics. Enhancements to the 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine found in the base, Premium, SE and Luxury trims, together with changes to the 2.0L turbo-four in the T SE, T Limited and T Ultimate models have improved fuel efficiency.

“The Santa Fe we drove in Phoenix was bare bones, and I didn’t like it at all,” Norman recalls. “When I was asked to drive another Santa Fe for the Reader Review program I wasn’t expecting much, but I was interested to see how the vehicle might have changed.”

Hyundai’s Santa Fe debuted here in 2001, and the first generation lasted until 2006. Second-generation Santa Fe crossover utility vehicles ran until 2012, with third-generation vehicles arriving in 2013. The 2017 model year updates apply to both the five-passenger Santa Fe Sport and the long-wheelbase Santa Fe XL.

Norman learned to drive on the family farm, a piece of property that is now a Calgary International Airport runway. She’s driven everything from cars to trucks and tractors to vans. The first vehicle she bought for herself was a Volkswagen Jetta, and while raising a family several vehicles have come and gone. However, she did like the two Chevrolet Lumina vans she and her husband, Jeff, maintained.

Currently, it’s just Sonja and Jeff in the household, and they keep a 2014 Lexus RX 350 and a 2006 Toyota Corolla – Jeff drives the Toyota to work while the Lexus is Sonja’s to drive during the week and on family trips. They take several highway journeys a year, adding approximately 25,000 kilometres to the Lexus annually.

Norman’s top three buying considerations, in no particular order, are comfort of the driver/passenger seats, overall visibility and the amount of technological content. “I really do appreciate these new driving aids,” Norman admits.

Her first impression of the Santa Fe earned a favourable comment. “I liked the shape of it,” she says, “Usually, if a vehicle has a funny or odd look to it I tweak to that right away, but this had a nice flowing line when seen in profile.

“Inside, I thought Hyundai had really stepped it up a notch over what I remembered seeing in the old Santa Fe. Nothing jumped out as too plastic looking, and it was easy to get comfortable in the driver’s seat.” Although the leather-covered chair was firm, Norman says it hugged her and she was pleasantly surprised by the comfort it offered. Gauges were clear, and easy to see.

Norman took turns driving the Santa Fe with Jeff, and there were differences in how the couple liked to set up the seat and steering wheel. Each driver change meant readjusting mirrors, seat and steering wheel position as there was no memory feature in the SE model; that would necessitate a jump to the Luxury version.

“The heating and cooling controls were intuitive and very easy to use,” Norman says of the dual-zone climate control system. “The heated seats timed out after being on for a duration, and you always had to turn them back on when you restarted the vehicle. The heated steering wheel was just awesome, I loved that.”

Power from the four-cylinder engine proved quite sufficient. “I was skeptical at first because it’s a four-cylinder, but it got me up to speed when merging onto the highway,” Norman says. “Once there, it maintained speed very nicely, and the six-speed automatic worked well, too.”

The Santa Fe has selectable drive modes, including Eco, Normal and Sport. Default setting is the “normal” position, and Norman says she did toggle between the modes. Sport and Normal felt about the same, while Eco was a bit sluggish when resuming speed after having to slow down when on the highway.

The 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport’s interior.

There was little engine or wind noise in the cabin but strong crosswinds did push the Santa Fe around when on the 1A Highway during a trip to Banff.

“The Santa Fe felt confident on these slushy and icy city streets,” Norman says. “I felt connected to the road, and it steered very well.”

Overall cargo utility was impressive, and Norman thinks the Santa Fe would be ideal for a family hauling kids and gear to and from sporting events.

“Compared to the rental Santa Fe, this was much nicer with better fit and finish,” Norman concludes. “Did I mention the panoramic sunroof? That was one of my favourite features – it was a wonderful piece of equipment.”

DRIVER’S JOURNAL

Day One: First things first – pairing the Bluetooth to my phone. Once we figured out the radio had to be on to be able to do the pairing, the process was very easy. Driver’s seat is very comfortable. The 12-way power seat makes it very adjustable to individual taste. The side mirrors needed to be adjusted to provide better visibility; with the low lighting, it was impossible to find the control to do so. The dial was black on the black interior driver’s door, and the writing on the dial does not glow in the dark or illuminate with the headlights on.

Day Two: I liked the warning message that the washer fluid was low. Headed to an appointment and was impressed how quickly the heated seats warmed up. Another impressive feature was the heated steering wheel. With hands full from a grocery trip, another unexpected missing feature: Although the key fob has a button for the rear hatch – even a picture of an open hatch with the word “Hold,” to me indicating it would open if I held the button – it is not a power lift but only a lock/unlock feature.

Day Three: A friend and I took a road trip to Banff. Drove the 1A Highway, a terrific stretch of road to test how it managed in the curves and it did well, I thought. Easily maintained speed and had the oomph to pass when needed. Cruise control was easy to use, pause and adjust. All in all, the ride was smooth and quiet; we could hold a conversation at normal volume, no shouting required.

Day Four: One of the most prominent features is the panoramic sunroof. It gives the rear seat passengers the benefit of the open sunroof typically reserved for the front seat. This is probably my favourite feature. It does have two separate controls which is a bit confusing. You sure wouldn’t want to hit the wrong one heading into the carwash! I would repeatedly use the button meant for opening the sunroof, when all I intended to do was slide the cover back.

Day Five: A bit of exploration with buttons revealed a digital speedometer in addition to the analog style, although it did mean giving up some of the other information (trip info, etc.). An evening out gave hubby an opportunity to get behind the wheel and for me to get a different perspective by sitting in the passenger seat. The passenger seat does not have the adjustments the driver’s seat does – rather disappointing, I felt like I was sitting very low and barely able to see over the dash. I did test the rear seating and even with long legs there was ample room.

Day Six: I experimented with the different drive modes – Eco, Sport and Normal. The Eco mode did not allow me to quickly regain lost speed when I slowed to allow merging traffic. I didn’t notice a significant difference between the Normal and Sport modes.

Day Seven: The location of the release lever for the gas tank is conveniently located on the driver’s door. No searching the dash for it, and if you forget to pull it before exiting the vehicle, as soon as you open the door it is there.